"No two people see the external world in exactly the same way. To every separate person a thing is what he thinks it is -- in other words, not a thing, but a think." - Penelope Fitzgerald

Mar 31, 2016

3.38 By self-control of the nerve-currents utilising the lifebreath, one may levitate, walk on water, swamps, thorns, or the like.

{The following is an extract from book 3 from "A Zen Commentary On The Yoga Sutras" - Videos are links in the notes which are put up here to make the extract more entertaining}

This sounds like an explanation for a common superstition that goes back to the time when Gods walked the earth and everything had mythological significance. That said, we have all seen expert ninjas run across the water in movies or read it in books, so there is no reason not to believe that this was believed in and used by warriors as a self-hypnosis to lighten the body? At least that’s the theory, let's look at the evidence.

A zen interpretation would be that learning to control your mind with years of meditation can give one the feeling AS IF they could levitate, walk on water or thorns or the like (which is clearly not what this sutra is saying) and at the end of Book 2, as well as in the introduction, I have covered how a zen meditation master, of the sage path of years of meditation, could sit in a fire and burn away the body without flinching. I think these sorts of detachment from the sense created a supernormal or superhuman type aura around the ancient yogis and meditation masters of the far east to the point where it was believed that they could do the supernatural things outlined in this sutra.

I covered how zen doesn’t condone belief in supernatural power or at least it’s pursuit as it is the very antithesis of the zen experience, i.e. there is no place in zen philosophy for anything but zen. So I assume, on a personal level, that these are sutras from a con man, as the title I gave to this book assumes. Now to look at other things I have encountered that could give rise to these sorts of beliefs and thus provide a platform for future research.

Other things I’ve noticed

There is a hypnosis technique where people gather round a sitting or laying down person and, while chanting “Light as a feather stiff as a board”, a few people are able to lift him as if he were almost weightless. Using just the two forefingers of the hands clasped together. This has become a more common phenomenon in today's youtube culture and is done by everyone proving a sheer lack of any ability or understanding in meditation one needs to perform this trick.

In the experiment in the video on youtube (conducted by kids) a scary line was added, probably to help spread it using the fear factor, but one can omit that line and focus just on “light as a feather, stiff as a board” and achieve the same weightless like results from anyone irrespective of thier experience or lack of it in meditation. Fascinating, huh? What if Jesus just managed to lighten himself… and walked on the dead sea which is ridiculously easy to float on;

... and then the story changed (all Gospels are written in Greek dated to at least 70 years after Jesus). The point? Well, everyone has seen chinese martial artists running across sticks or telling stories about how some legendary master could ‘walk on water’... maybe this is a martial arts technique?

The magician theory for levitation etc: When young I saw a wandering magician perform a trick in that region called the levitation technique. After a few magic tricks and talk of supernatural help he lay down and covered himself with a blanket. Then he started rising into the air. It was a shocking moment for everyone. Some kids managed to sneak a peek under the blanket and he was standing on a chair while holding a stick with stuff on, parallel to the ground, to simulate his body. How many magicians must have been roaming the countryside as far back as the glory days of Ancient India, I have no idea but there must have been many.

Walking on hot coals/thorns: This is actually common even today and you can find many people on the internet who will teach you how to do it in a day long seminar. It’s also a hypnosis technique, called a group hypnosis technique, and has been tried successfully by many people (I haven't had the opportunity yet). So, I have to assume that all the thousands of people who have tried it out for themselves are telling the truth and that not much mental ability is required for this technique as well.

Conclusion: Normal magician tricks and normal powers of the mind could have led to people imagining stories of levitation and flying and walking on water, which became part of the beliefs of the ancient world. While one could observe some of the simpler techniques and manifestation of the powers of the human mind, one just imagined what if and thus the fairy tales spread. Seen as a technique for warriors such as Ninjas this becomes more of a manual of mental tricks rather than a manual for “spiritual powers” (another misinterpretation, I have come to believe).

Quotes

"Make peace with the universe. Take joy in it. It will turn to gold. Resurrection will be now. Every moment, a new beauty." - Rumi

"God is a metaphor for that which transcends all levels of intellectual thought. It's as simple as that." - Joseph Campbell

"Naturally, every age thinks that all ages before it were prejudiced, and today we think this more than ever and are just as wrong as all previous ages that thought so. How often have we not seen the truth condemned! It is sad but unfortunately true that man learns nothing from history." - Carl Jung

"Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be deprecated. I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society." - George Washington

“If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it's not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.” - Dalai Lama

“Be empty of worrying. Think of who created thought! Why do you stay in prison. When the door is so wide open?” ― Rumi